Chameleons Northwest
Avid Member
I hope this is OK. This is in response to a thread on this forum that was closed this morning. But I really feel that I have something to contribute, so here goes.
We have years of experience breeding and hatching chameleons. Not nearly as many years as others on this forum, but enough years to know what a humbling experience it can be. Every hatchling is a little miracle to me. And every baby that pips but never makes it out of the egg alive is a frustrating mystery. And every clutch that thrives during the first 6 weeks and then gradually, one by one, drops dead, is a crushing defeat. You try changing the lighting, changing the diet, changing the misting procedure, changing the cages, separating them all to individual cages, etc., etc.
Our most difficult clutches have been the pure Nosy Faly and also Azure's Ambanja offspring. I have spoken to other (not all) breeders of Nosy Faly and have found that they, too, have difficulty with clutch survival. Nature rules. We fumble.
I will be honest with you. I was tempted recently by the ad offering multiples of fresh bloodline tiny Nosy Faly babies (in the U.S.) at a great price. But then I had to remind myself. Two weeks out of the egg alive doesn't guarantee 3 weeks out of the egg alive. One month doesn't guarantee two months. Three and four months out of the egg, however, gives you pretty good odds.
We had Azure ambanja babies hatch late last year:
At one month old we had about 30 of them successfully hatched from 2 clutches. If I had sold them at one month old I would have made between $5,000 and $7,500. Maybe more. People emailed and called us almost every day about them.
Then the losses began. And the struggle to discover why and to try to solve the problem. Researching others' experiences on this forum. Talking to folks on the phone. To no avail. If I had sold the remainder at 2 months old (and believe me we had people offering to take them that young) I would have made between $3750 and $5000.
Now, at 3 months old, we sold none and have only 1 left surviving. A female. She looks good. Fat and hardy. I will keep her, at least for a while, to see how she does. So, I went from $7,500 to $0. We had a similar experience with Nosy Faly offspring.
Did I cry, did I lose sleep? Yes. But not over the money. It was about lifting lifeless bodies off cage bottoms. It was about searching through branches and vines only to find one more limp form draped over a twig. It was about husbandry. Bad husbandry, good husbandry, wrong husbandry? So many tiny dead babies. It was about having to tell our customers that there are no male Azure offspring available anymore. After they patiently waited 3 months.
I'm glad they waited 3 months. Would some babies survived if we had sold and shipped them to customers sooner? Maybe. Who knows. But I doubt it. Azure died unexpectedly right after fathering these 2 clutches. Maybe there was something amiss.
So many variables. This is not for the faint of heart.
We have years of experience breeding and hatching chameleons. Not nearly as many years as others on this forum, but enough years to know what a humbling experience it can be. Every hatchling is a little miracle to me. And every baby that pips but never makes it out of the egg alive is a frustrating mystery. And every clutch that thrives during the first 6 weeks and then gradually, one by one, drops dead, is a crushing defeat. You try changing the lighting, changing the diet, changing the misting procedure, changing the cages, separating them all to individual cages, etc., etc.
Our most difficult clutches have been the pure Nosy Faly and also Azure's Ambanja offspring. I have spoken to other (not all) breeders of Nosy Faly and have found that they, too, have difficulty with clutch survival. Nature rules. We fumble.
I will be honest with you. I was tempted recently by the ad offering multiples of fresh bloodline tiny Nosy Faly babies (in the U.S.) at a great price. But then I had to remind myself. Two weeks out of the egg alive doesn't guarantee 3 weeks out of the egg alive. One month doesn't guarantee two months. Three and four months out of the egg, however, gives you pretty good odds.
We had Azure ambanja babies hatch late last year:
At one month old we had about 30 of them successfully hatched from 2 clutches. If I had sold them at one month old I would have made between $5,000 and $7,500. Maybe more. People emailed and called us almost every day about them.
Then the losses began. And the struggle to discover why and to try to solve the problem. Researching others' experiences on this forum. Talking to folks on the phone. To no avail. If I had sold the remainder at 2 months old (and believe me we had people offering to take them that young) I would have made between $3750 and $5000.
Now, at 3 months old, we sold none and have only 1 left surviving. A female. She looks good. Fat and hardy. I will keep her, at least for a while, to see how she does. So, I went from $7,500 to $0. We had a similar experience with Nosy Faly offspring.
Did I cry, did I lose sleep? Yes. But not over the money. It was about lifting lifeless bodies off cage bottoms. It was about searching through branches and vines only to find one more limp form draped over a twig. It was about husbandry. Bad husbandry, good husbandry, wrong husbandry? So many tiny dead babies. It was about having to tell our customers that there are no male Azure offspring available anymore. After they patiently waited 3 months.
I'm glad they waited 3 months. Would some babies survived if we had sold and shipped them to customers sooner? Maybe. Who knows. But I doubt it. Azure died unexpectedly right after fathering these 2 clutches. Maybe there was something amiss.
So many variables. This is not for the faint of heart.